Prayer for the Dying
Chapter Four
Author's note: Just a setting for the Tomorrow People timeline -- I'm figuring it for Adam being in his mid-twenties and Megabyte being in college. And I don't care if it's off, because hey, it makes for the cute in-jokes. :)
I guess this is the point where I say that we sat Tara down and told her everything. The whole chop-chop-you're-Immortal thing, the truth about Adam and who he was and what he was, the millions of people who were going to die if we all didn't do something. That sort of everything.
But first, a phone call to the girlfriend.
See, Anya I could account for. If she wasn't at the shop, then she was probably shopping at an elsewhere. Which left Willow MIA. Well, as far as I knew.
What I found out later made me feel even worse. First off, Willow was having lunch with her mother for the first time in months. Yeah, you heard me, months. Willow's mother should really have had a case study instead of a baby. And secondly, she had chosen that day to say those three special words every parent wants to hear -- "Mom, I'm gay." I'd met her mother. I saw a thesis in her future.
In any event, the others had done the comforting thing where they gave her pats on the back and warm blankets and chocolate, and I pulled Adam off to the side, introduced myself, and promptly spilled my guts. (Not literally. I've been living on the Hellmouth too long, I just had to clarify that.) But after the comfort food and the gut spillage, Buffy, Dawn and Giles had taken off so that the hard part could begin.
So now, here the two of us were, waiting for Tara to get off the phone.
I'd taken a good look at Adam, but I hadn't learned much out of the experience. He couldn't be all that much older than I was. Brown hair, brown eyes, Australian accent ... the kind of guy who probably blended into a crowd. Must have come in as handy for him as it did for me.
We both tried not to look at each other as we watched Tara through the doorway. "No, Willow, I'm fine. I just -- I ruined your shirt, that's all."
She would have been wearing one of Willow's shirts that day. Welcome to my luck, as usual.
"Don't worry, I'll tell you when I get home. So, how'd lunch with your mom go? How did she take it? Well, is that bad? Oh." She finally noticed us staring out at her, and she blushed as she gestured awkwardly towards the receiver in her hand. "Do you guys mind if I --"
I was going to give her a "sure, no problem," but she openly stared at Adam for a second in such a way that I could have sworn he'd already answered her and I'd just missed it.
He grinned sheepishly and said to Tara, "Sorry. I should have warned you. Go on."
She nodded and carried the phone back into the book stacks, and Adam and I were left alone with our thoughts in the practice area.
"So," I said. And stopped. It seemed intelligent at the time.
Adam squirmed. I doubt he was the only one in the room squirming. "So."
"You're the next stage of human evolution."
"Yes. And you can't die."
"No." Okay, now what was I supposed to say? "You teleport."
"Yes." Adam looked a little more serious. "You have to fight each other with swords."
"Uh-huh." I tried to think of something else to say. "The next stage of human evolution."
"You said that already."
"I'm still going over it in my head." Adam frowned, and I felt like I had to explain myself. "When my teacher first told me what I was, one of the first things I asked was whether or not we were human. Too many years of living on the Hellmouth," I added with a shrug. "He said he didn't know anymore than I did. If Tara's an Immortal and the next stage of human evolution, I guess that answers that question."
There was a momentary pause out of Crocodile Dundee. "We might have a problem," Adam finally blurted out, and as soon as he did, he looked as if he wanted to take it back. Then, for clarification, he added, "With Tara."
That didn't bode well. Then again, most things in my life didn't bode well, so it wasn't a new experience. "What?"
We were sitting on the same bench at the time, and he leaned closer as if he were about to tell me a huge secret. "I was attacked by a shark a few years back."
"What's that got to do with Tara?"
"I had a huge knife on me at the time, and I couldn't fight back."
"Still not seeing the what here."
I was frustrating him, I could tell. I'd recognize that expression anymore. "If you think she's going to be fighting for her life with a sword against your Immortals, you've got another think coming."
This wasn't some kind of moral thing, was it? It was against the Tomorrow People Super-Duper Secret Code of Honor or something for them to hurt anyone. Was that it? 'Cause in this town, in any town, Immortality basically screwed over a personal rule like that. "Look, you don't understand --"
"No, you don't understand. If she's one of your Immortals, and she's like me, then she's in a hell of a lot of trouble."
Uh-oh. See what I meant about the not boding well? "Why?"
"Because we can't defend ourselves."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Adam sighed and said, "Look, you might be used to protecting yourself, but I'm used to having other people fight my battles ... sort of." The look on his face made me think that he was choosing what he was about to say next very carefully. "Xander, Tomorrow People are genetically programmed not to harm another living creature. We can't."
Okay. Of all the things he could have said at that moment, that was probably the worst thing.
He kept talking even as my mind started to race with just how bad this could be. "My best friend once said we're lovers, not fighters. Then again, at the time, he was constantly fighting off the attentions of his current girlfriend, so ..." An uncomfortable smile crossed his face as he stared at me, waiting for a reaction.
Which he got.
First, I opened my mouth to speak. Then, I closed it, having momentarily forgotten the English language.
What was I -- what were we supposed to do with an Immortal who couldn't fight?
Finally, after much internal deliberation, I said, "That explains it, then."
Adam's brow furrowed. "Explains what?"
"Do you believe in precognition?" I asked.
This time, his smile was more relaxed. "Look who you're asking," he said.
A click of receiver to phone and a shuffling sound from the shop distracted us, and we both looked up as Tara entered the back room. She watched us so intently that for a second, I was afraid my shy little Tara had vanished when her body had. "So," Tara asked quietly but meaningfully of the both of us, "what am I?"
And cue big knife.
I did mention how much I hate this part, right? Right.
Do you have any idea what it's like? Knowing you're standing next to Little Miss Prophecy? I'm starting to get used to it.
As Adam and I walked Tara back to her and Willow's dorm room, I kept noticing her looking over at me, with this weird expression I don't think I'd ever seen on anyone else. It took me a long, drawn-out silent time to figure out just how Tara was looking at me.
Like I had all the answers.
Well, not all the answers. She kept looking over Adam the same way, as he walked on the other side of her. I recognized the way the two of us were walking on either side of her, sandwiching her. I'd seen it before sometimes when I'd go out patrolling with the gang. Not all the time, but sometimes ... Buffy on one side and maybe Willow or Riley on the other side.
Of course, I doubted that'd be happening anymore.
Adam, meanwhile, watched Tara curiously. "So," he asked, drawing Tara's attention away from me, "you practice Wicca, huh? I can honestly say I've never met a Wiccan."
It was almost like you could see her ears perk up. "Oh, really? You're just not l-looking in the right places. We're all over Sunnydale."
"Yeah, like cockroaches," I added. "Or vampires, in Sunnydale's case. Yup, if the apocalypse happened right now, all that would be left in Sunnydale would be cockroaches, vampires, and Wiccans. Crispy, well-cooked Wiccans, but Wiccans just the same."
Adam grinned and shook his head. "I can't believe I'm having this conversation."
I thought about mentioning the conversation I'd had the night before with Cordy, but I kept my mouth shut. Not in front of Little Miss Prophecy.
Speaking of Tara ... "So this Tomorrow People thing, and the Immortal thing, together --"
Adam and I exchanged a concerned glance over Tara's head. I could tell we were both thinking the same thing -- how much this was not the right time to talk about this. I don't think I'd want to hear about a.) how helpless I was going to be, and b.) my inadvertantly causing a shiny new apocalypse on the same day I'd found out I couldn't die, was the next stage of human evolution, and, as if that weren't bad enough, had made my girlfriend's mother spit broccoli and cheese soup at lunch.
Adam stopped her before she could go any further, putting his hands on her shoulders and turning her towards him. "How about we talk about this tomorrow? You've had a long day."
"Haven't we all?" I muttered under my breath.
I didn't think anyone had heard, but Adam flashed me a meaningful look. "Tara, would you mind giving Xander and I a minute alone?"
"Sure," she said, glancing towards her nearby dorm. "I can go up to the room alone, anyway. I'm a big girl."
She started to walk away, but I grabbed onto her arm before she could get away. Pulling her aside, I asked, "Are you going to tell her?"
It was a stupid question, I know, but I asked it just the same. Tara's family had spent so long making her think that she was a demon, evil to the core, that she hadn't been able to tell Willow. Not until her family had shown up, determined to take her away. I knew it had probably hurt her to keep a secret like that from the woman she loved. I doubted she'd try it again with two secrets.
As I thought, she nodded, albeit reluctantly. "I h-have to. Don't you think so?"
"It's probably the best thing. If you have any problems, you can call."
She smiled, then flinched a little. Her gaze drifted to Adam, and her smile widened. "Right. I'll do that."
I moved closer to Adam as he and I watched Tara head into her dorm, both of us probably thinking the same thing -- keeping her safe, keeping her protected.
Then Adam interrupted the silence. "So? What's up? What aren't you telling me?"
"I could ask you the same thing," I said. "What was that last thing between you two?"
"We can read each other's minds. Your turn. What do you know about her that you're not telling me?"
I heard a rustling in the bushes lining the pathway, and my hand instinctively reached to my side. "How about I tell you after?"
Confusion filled Adam's expression. "After what?"
"After the vampire in the bushes comes out," I said matter-of-factly.
And that was when the bastard pounced. He was going for Adam, but with the warning I'd given him, the guy had managed to teleport out of the way before Fang Boy could get a hold of him.
The jerk didn't last long, though. He had really bad blood breath on his side. I, meanwhile, had three feet of steel that said he was going down. Guess who won. Go on, guess.
It only took a few fancy movements of the blade to slice and dice the vamp. And like all of the previous nights I'd patrolled alone, glad to be by myself so that I could hold a sword in my hand and not pretend I was an idiot with the thing, I knew, if only for a few short seconds, how Buffy felt during a slaying. Good stuff, that.
When the dust settled -- literally -- Adam came strolling back down the path again, hands in his pockets, as if he'd just been passing by. My guess was that he'd leapt back to where the vamp had been and had watched the fight from the non-prospective-bleeding seats.
He stared seriously at my broadsword as I resheathed it. "I couldn't do that," he said.
"I know."
"Do you see what I'm getting at? With Tara?"
I didn't want to, but I nodded just the same. "Part of her's going to want to get away from every fight she gets into."
"And part of her's going to want to pick up a sword."
I shook my head and rubbed at the back of my neck with my hand. "Ah, so this is Hell. I remember it well," I said, then flinched at Adam's expression. "What?"
"You remind me of Megabyte," he said.
"I'm almost afraid to ask."
"My best friend. He's at MIT right now, getting some sort of computer degree. Personally, I think it's cheating on his part." He glanced around at the college campus around us, his face looking much the way I imagine mine did -- and still does -- every time I got anywhere near a college. Like I didn't deserve to be there, even if it were only for a visit.
He kept talking as he kicked at the pebbles on the path. "He's the guy I was talking about before. The 'lovers, not fighters' guy. One of the other Tomorrow People. We call him Megabyte because one of his powers is that he can do anything with a computer. He hasn't studied in the past two years."
I groaned at that one. God only knew, if there were a college degree available in swordplay, I probably would have done the same thing. "You're right," I said. "That is cheating."
We shared a laugh at that one, but both of us quieted down almost immediately, the severity of what we were up against coming back to us. I couldn't help but look up to the second floor, to the room I knew Tara and Willow shared. Adam's gaze followed my own.
"We're screwed, aren't we?" he asked.
"I wouldn't say screwed. Lightly molested by Fate, maybe. Touched in a special place by Destiny." I winced at the look on Adam's face. "And now I'm in a visual place."
He just shook his head as we both headed away from the dorm. "Oh, yeah, I definitely have to get you and Megabyte in the same room."
I needed to practice. Badly.
And it wasn't because I wanted to improve myself or anything like that. It was because I needed to vent, and I had learned that whacking at imaginary demons with a sharp, heavy object is better than therapy. And cheaper.
Why does shit like this happen to me, huh? Protect her always. Yeah, all right. I get it now, you big stupid jerk up in the sky.
I found myself wishing I'd gotten out a little vent session with Adam before he'd gone. Adam had said he'd be on the island if we needed him, and that all Tara had to do was call. I was guessing mentally, since he hadn't given me a phone number. I was suddenly so unbelievably pissed at the guy. I mean, what'd he have to do, really? She could obviously already read minds -- not all minds, just a Tomorrow Person's, but that was the point, apparently -- and it'd probably take about five minutes to iron out the kinks with the teleportation thing.
From the way it sounded, I would have to protect her for the rest of my life.
What I was just getting at the time was what was in Tara's future. You know what? Let's talk Tara's future. Some Immortal shows up in Sunnydale and decides to challenge her to a fight. She can't fight, so she teleports out. And suddenly she's got an Immortal on her tail for life because he thinks it's something special in her Quickening.
And all because Tomorrow People are a secret.
Tomorrow People are a secret.
I paused in the middle of my kata, lowered the sword and let it sink in. It was like being hit with a Mack truck. I got it. I understood.
There are some Immortals out there ... you get 'em interested enough, and they figure out some wacky fun way to whack you and get away with it. So let's say Tara does teleport. Let's say she finds one day that the only way for her to stay safe is to stay on that island until there are no more homo sapiens left. And meanwhile, because of something she did, it's Holocaust, take two, back here in the real world.
I didn't know what was supposed to happen in between Tara teleporting out of her first battle and Tara curled up in the fetal position on a tropical island somewhere, but whatever it was, it couldn't be good.
"Finished yet?"
I turned to see Anya standing in the doorway, and my heart warmed like always. I'm a romantic guy, what can I say? I love being in love with a girl who's in love with me. And the habitual nakedness is not a bad thing.
"So, you told them?"
I nodded as I turned around to put my sword away. I had told Anya some of what was supposed to happen that day, but not all of it. I'd kind of expected her to be there for it. I hadn't expected to forget she had the day off. "I told them everything but the kitchen sink," I said, then paused. "Okay, my brain just crashed."
Anya walked up behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist, hugging me tightly. "What'd they think?"
"Nothing. They were too busy thinking, 'Gee, where's Tara?'" I felt her start against my back, and I knew I had to explain. I turned in her arms to face her. "I shot her, like Cordelia told me to. And she died. And she vanished."
"Oh. She's not supposed to do that," Anya said, as if I didn't know that already.
"No, most normal people don't."
"Did she come back?"
"Eventually."
It must have been something in the tone of my voice that made her ask, "Is that a bad thing?"
"Worse than you'd think."
She smiled sympathetically and stood on her tiptoes to kiss me. After a long, drawn-out kiss, she pulled back and said, "Well, how about we have some sex, and you can forget about it for a little while?"
Ah, sex. Anya's solution to every problem under the sun. Not that it was a bad solution. Far from it. And with the day I'd had ... well, sex, it was. And lots of it, apparently.
Seemed only fair, really. Something told me tomorrow was not going to be the best day of my life.